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Dear Annie: I am no longer speaking to my best friend of more than 20 years. I thought “Katie” and I were friends for life. She is even godmother to my daughter. Two years ago, we invited Katie and her husband to my 50th birthday party. My husband offered to let them stay with us […]

By Bud Wolf How many of you know what Rotary International is and does? Rotary is the largest and oldest service organization in the world. It is composed of 1.2 million members in more than 170 countries. It is apolitical and nonreligious. There are more than 32,000 clubs, and the basis for all Rotary action […]

The issue: The toastiest month on record brings unfortunate side-effects, including the worst drought in 25 years We’ve just lived — or, more accurately, sweltered — though the hottest month in U.S. history. The average July temperature in the contiguous 48 states was 77.6 degrees F, 3.3 degrees above the 20th century average for the […]

Dear Annie: My brother, “Luke,” recently returned to our hometown. Since he’s been back, all he has done is drink beer. He has made no effort to find a job. I love him, but it is quite obvious that he’s an alcoholic. When Luke lived here 10 years ago, he was constantly intoxicated. When my […]

Dear Annie: Last month, I took my grandkids to a water park. While I was watching the crowds, I noticed a man with a boy who looked to be around 12 years old crouched behind a picnic table. They looked as if they were waiting for someone to come by so they could jump up […]

So, by the time you read this, that weird flaming Olympic torch-blossom has surely been extinguished, and the athletes have headed home to their jobs at McDonald’s and Holiday Inn, or whatever the equivalent of those are where they live, and I’m probably feeling a bit sad and empty. Yes, I admit it. I got […]

* EDITOR’S NOTE: This column first ran in 2005. I recently read a novel that I should have read 35 years ago. Unfortunately, when I was young enough for this book, the author was young, too, and hadn’t written it yet. If I had read “The Alchemist” (1988) when I “should” have, I wouldn’t have the love-hate […]

Dear Annie: I’m a college student and only get to see my long-distance boyfriend once every four or five weeks. We’ve been dating for more than 18 months. Assuming we stay together through grad school, we will have dated longer than six years before we have the chance to live together. Since I haven’t spent […]

I am flattered to be the subject of a debate between Professor Doug Graves and Keith Redenbaugh. I was wrong to claim that Roundup is not harmful to frogs, and to make the statement that Roundup is nontoxic. So, no, I would not want to down a cup full of Roundup! What I should have […]

Rather than thinking about the cost of storing spent nuclear fuel, it’s best to consider the value of the spent fuel which nuclear engineers estimate at over $50 trillion. Spent nuclear fuel contains about 99 percent of its original energy. Fourth generation nuclear reactors, like the Integral Fast Reactor, use the spent fuel to make […]

As much of the nation gasps through the last steamy hot days of summer, there’s mixed scientific reviews for some of the season’s pleasures and dangers. First, let’s talk iced tea. People gulp it down this time of year. But researchers at Loyola University of Chicago point out too much of the brew can boost […]

We attended a town hall meeting at the Davis Senior Center on Aug. 4 in an effort to become informed relative to the proposed changes in the current Senior Citizens of Davis (SCD) Bylaws. These changes have generated great controversy. Many concerns were expressed by attendees but most shocking to us was when a board […]

By Ann McFeatters A record number of us now say we are political independents, swiveling our heads right and left as we watch the Democrats and the Republicans try to govern — and fail. Forty-four percent of Americans insist they are neither Republican nor Democrat, according to Gallup polling. That is about nine points higher […]